Fogarty Institute for Innovation and FDA collaborate to create an educational interface

The Fogarty Institute for Innovation, a nonprofit that provides intellectual, physical and financial resources to medtech startups, announced it signed an agreement with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to begin a first-of-its-kind educational program. The goal of the program was to help accelerate medical device innovation by improving communication, collaboration and understanding between the FDA and early-stage medical device innovators, and thereby improve the overall efficiency of the medical device approval process.

Initial FDA participants included representatives of the Office of Device Evaluation in the FDA's Center for Device and Radiological Health, the governmental body that is responsible for the program areas through which medical devices are evaluated or cleared for clinical trials and marketing. The FDA staff participated in a one-week educational program at the Institute, working closely with its startups to obtain a better understanding of what it takes to bring a device to market in the U.S., and the impact FDA policy and decisions have on startups' ability to commercialize innovative and potentially life-saving technologies.

"This is a critical step to help develop a safe and effective U.S. medical device ecosystem, with the end goal of supporting medical innovation that benefits patients," said Ann Fyfe, President and CEO of the Fogarty Institute for Innovation. "The Institute provided FDA staff with access to a 'living laboratory' of medical device start-up companies, providing insight into the challenges faced by these companies; and, in turn, offering our companies-in-residence a better understanding of the positive impact the FDA can have on the development of safer medical devices."

"Our goal at the FDA is to promote innovation and efficacy in medical devices, to better serve the American public while maintaining the highest level of safety," said Murray Sheldon, MD, Associate Director for Technology and Innovation in the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "We believe this collaboration will assist the FDA in better understanding the unique considerations of medtech startups; and the costs, time and money incurred during early-stage development to bring their innovation to doctors and patients."

Provided by Johnston Communications